I seem to be on a beaujolais kick at the moment. I wonder if it’s because I had a Frenchwoman from Beaujolais staying with me? My friend Anne-Victoire of Miss Vicky Wines was in town to sell her wines. She put on a tasting at Borough Wines and featured not only her family wines but also a white Beaujolais! I had no idea that Beaujolais did white wines but they do, albeit at very small production. Most beaujolais blanc comes from the far north of Beaujolais overlapping with the Macon border. Producers would much rather market under the far more recognizable Maconnais label which is why there is so little beaujolais blanc. Anyway, the beaujolais blanc we tried was from the Ch. de Lavernette, theyalso produce Pouilly Fuisse, but the beaujolais blanc is 100% chardonnay from Beaujolais and is biodynamically produced. Made from 100% chardonnay and unoaked, it was an dry white with pleasant citrus aromas and flavours, not terribly complex but it went quite well with the soft cheeses being served alongside the wine.

Anne-Victoire

Fleurie is my beaujolais of choice lately and Anne-Victoire had brought an ’05 for me to try. The Fleurie she brought was an ’05 from her family estate, Domaine Monrozier Chateau LesMoriers ’05. The vineyard has been family owned for over 150 years and great care and pride are taken in producing their wines. The domaine produces two wines, the Fleurie and Moulin-a-Vent. As a matter of fact, you can see the famous Moulin-a-Vent of Beaujolais from the domaine’s vineyards. The ’05 Fleurie I drank at home had a nose full of cherries, quite floral with a fair bit of minerality, surprisingly. It had evolved into a rather spicy character on the palate with plenty of black cherry, licorice and aniseed in the mix and quite smooth. It was quite different from the ’06 at the tasting. The ’06 Fleurie was bursting with fruity aromas and flavours, cherry and raspberry being predominate, not as silky and smooth as the ’05, much more acidity. I preferred the ’05 to drink on it’s own and the ’06 to drink with the soft cheeses and sausage made from donkey! Yes, they sell donkey sausage at Borough Market. Anne-Victoire called it sausage but it looked more like a salami to me, must be a French thing. I was expecting a really gamy or “horsey” flavour, but it had a meaty, not salty quality to it, quite flavoursome. It was pretty darn tasty and at least it wasn’t horse!

cheese and donkey sausage

All wines available from Borough Wines. The Fleurie retails for £15 and the beaujolais blanc retails for £12.

Ahhhhhhh Miss Sleuth, I was sure theses beaujolais would charm you’re palate! You’ve just picked my favorites, it seems like I’m never wrong ;).
And for the record, we called the donkey thingy a SAUCISSON. Come to Beaujolais for more French lessons!